Churchy's Gaming Corner

MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

2011-02-06T03:20:00.001-08:00

That is the sound of my cackling as I write this post. It has nothing to do with gaming but who cares. I said I would update this whenever and here is another long overdue update. Again I fell into various traps in thinking that my blog had to have a certain "accepted" format but that is complete bollocks. This will be more a thought cloud on games. Anything goes from now on. I imagine any reviews will range from an in depth analysis to a 2 sentence write off or summing up.

Either way. 2010 is now over (I had to check that up because time scale means very little in the universe of Churchy) and it is time for me to tell you about what I feel were the best games from last year. Although gaming is getting more clogged up with more crap than you'd find in a gorilla's toilet (they don't make good plumbers you see) 2010 was actually a good year. Today gaming is now being run for the purpose of solely making money (Yes I'm looking at you THQ and Activision) rather than making anything that could be within the following categories:

- Making something that is imaginative
- Making something that is individual and fun
- Something that is creative
- Something that does something new with the medium or furthers it
- Something that is intelligent and makes you think
- Something that furthers the way a story can be told in a game (Braid is the perfect example of this)
- Something that is fun spirited
- Something that is different
- Something that wallows in it's own arsekickery
- Something that is artistic
- An experience where the studio goes further than just developing the game

Any good game should fall into at least 3 or 4 of these categories to be even be considered anywhere near good. Of course some these conditions are subjective but it is still my criteria.

Here is my overview of games released in 2010 that were actually great with a snippet review of each!

Super Meat Boy

Wow. One of the best platformers I have ever played. Yes it is up there with all the greats you care to mention. What's even better is it is independent, created only by 2 awesome dudes of virtue true. The characters are interesting and fun, taking in the cream of the indie scene's crop, featuring characters like Tim from Braid and the Alien Hominoid. The levels are imaginative and varied. The music by Danny Baranowsky is untouchable and this is all topped off with a great sense of humour and heart which is rare in gaming nowadays. Get it now. It has become one of my favourites of all time. It takes a lot for me to say that.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Anyone who knows me knew I have been waiting for this for a long time. I'd always say that Golden Sun should make a revival. How does it measure up. Quite simply, it's fantastic, building upon what we all knew and loved from the original games but still branching out to create a whole new experience and improving the whole game system even further, unafraid to cover new ground. One of my favourite RPG series of all time has shown that you can find an experience on a handheld that can easily rival the big power consoles.

Last Window: The Secret Of Cape West

Unfortunately, this is the last game ever from Developers, Cing. They were one of my favourite recent developers because they were never afraid to try something different. Whether they always succeeded in creating something great doesn't matter, for they made some unsung classics in their time. Most notably, Hotel Dusk which precedes this game. Again in the shoes of grumpy but oh so lovable ex detective Kyle Hyde, this game tells a new story which makes you feel closer to the characters to before and is just as an enthralling as Hotel Dusk. The puzzles are back, more backstory is elaborated upon and the simple charm of Cing shines through once more. These guys have really gone out on not just a great note, but a beautiful symphony of a game.

Red Dead Redemption

These days, most bigger titles tend to be a poor effortless money making attempt. *cough* Activision *cough* But Red Dead Redemption is worthy of all the praise it gets. It really is that good. I would go so far as to say that this is Rockstar's masterpiece and I'm not sure they'll ever top it. Everything about this game is fantastic. The story is just sublime, the characters are well defined and they go into huge depth. You actually care about them and it's interesting to see where their lives turn next. The thing I applaud the most is that things don't end up all peachy and lovely for everyone. There is angst, reams of subtext and canned emotion. But the fun gameplay and satirical edge of Rockstar still threads itself in seamlessly. Looking at this and all the Grand Theft Auto series, I actually prefer this over all of them. The GTA series dipped with 4 especially but all of the games feel like a footnote for this game. It is fantastic and well worth playing. However, Rockstar's future now looks a little less bright, with titles that don't look nearly as impressive as this.

Alan Wake

Unfortunately, this was released in the same week as Red Dead Redemption. I imagine whoever conceived that idea is now sleeping with the fishes (Remedy are a vengeful bunch, just ask Max Payne). The successor to Mr Payne's antics takes a differently deranged turn. Sam Lake is back in the position of writer for the story of ironically, a writer whose memories and sense of the world is turned inside out in what is correctly described as "a psychological thriller". There are elements of horror here but it is nowhere near the fear levels of the Project Zero or early Silent Hill games. However, the writing of the game is ridiculously intelligent that's impossible not to get sucked in from the get go. I will say no more as I don't wish to spoil it but it is an underrated gem that everyone should play.

Games that are new for me, but were not released this year, but are still great anyway:

Braid

This game is just wow. Completely left field, indpendent and simply breathtaking. A game I would happily say is pure art. I will actually write a full review of this because it really deserves it. This is one of the best video games ever made.

Machinarium

A point and click game that reminds you of the likes of Broken Sword in it's mechanics and Beneath The Steel Sky in it's setting. The story takes place in a desolate waste world populated only by robots. The art is jaw dropping and the story is remarkable as not a single word is uttered. This is a great game that revisits an old genre that really shouldn't have fallen off at all! It is a wonderfully imaginative game.

Here is a list of overhyped shit:
- Call Of Duty (insert subheading here)
- THQ's Wrestling Game O' Fun (insert yearly subheading here)
- Limbo (to be fair this game was okay in my humble opinion, it's just that everyone went batshit crazy over it)

As per usual. Here is another fantastic piece of music from a video game soundtrack. Today it is from the more obscure horror game Haunting Ground for the PS2.

Until next time friends, keep on gaming!

Future History

2010-11-21T03:27:00.001-08:00

Greetings all.

It has been a very busy period for all staff at Churchy's Gaming Corner (the team comprising only of myself!) but here is a little explanation that could prove to be an exciting one. Also some more views and focused looks on games will be coming with some more great gaming music.

New Ideas That Lay Underneath

The future. Yes. I know. A galling thing for any living entity. But at the minute I have been thinking about my own. Now as a younger boy with both the stomach and the imagination to prove I played a lot of video games, I also wanted to make them. Today the stomach has gone but the imagination remains. For a long time I dreamed of being involved in video games development but my strength is mainly in the conception of ideas and writing. It was only brought to my attention recently whilst searching for courses at universities that there are ones which give a more general approach and look much more into the artistic area of video games design, supporting the best prospect of all: writing video game scripts and stories. This is something I hadn't considered before but the more I thought about it made sense. All of my favourite games all have a story, however simple and complex, which gave birth to what I saw in the screen in front of me. The likes of Max Payne and Alan Wake written by Sam Lake or Shenmue written by Yu Suzuki are just two examples of games that would have required great and lengthy scripting. If I could get into such a position, it is something I would love to do.

Of course I would need to brush up my drawing and learn how to program properly but that is something I have an interest in anyway. It has just always seemed slightly out of reach. I often think that video games have taken a slight down turn over the last few years (although 2010 has been better I must admit!) and what better way than to be involved in that change or help that change come about?

Of course a video games course isn't the only way to do that. I have been looking at writing courses that aren't full of close minded people. I've been looking at courses which welcome all medium for which writing is a crucial part of. There are writing courses which look at video games scripts. Of course if I were writing professionally, there are many things I could write for on the side, but the thought of ideas I've created for games being put into script form is immensely exciting. About most things I write multiple paragraphs but for some reason this different. It seems so exciting vast and new but so simple and obvious at the same time.

This isn't a definite future plan or even a declaration that if I were to go on such a course or learn about video games in more depth, that it is the only thing I would do. But it is just another exciting avenue of life that I wanted to share with you. Also if you yourself are thinking about wanting to write for video games or looking to do a more artistic video games course, then please comment or contact me and I'll share with you what I know.

Expect to hear more about this. If I do go down this road, I imagine this blog will become an insider's diary of sorts.

New and Improved

As I'm playing a lot of games and there is so much to get stuck into, I've decide to invent what I call Snippet Reviews. These are reviews which are concise, to the point but which give you a good description of the game I'm reviewing. Sometimes I think it's nice to read a shorter review too! Anyway here are the first couple of Snippet Reviews.

Snippet Reviews:

In my snippet reviews I haven't played anything that bad recently. Don't worry I can go into the past for that but I'm sure something that is new will raise it's ugly head for me to blast it off in rage.

Hydrophobia.
A great game that was as exciting and fun as I had originally hoped in my preview earlier on in the year. Some wonderful and original ideas are brought into the game whilst also showing influence in video games of old. A lovely mix of action, platforming and sci-fi all topped off with interesting characters and some nice subtle humour. It's nice to see a new developer coming up with new and exciting ideas. (something a lot of big devs forget about these days!)The only downfall. The map is ridiculously hard to navigate and get used to. But it never ruins the overall experience. The best thing is, we're guaranteed two more episodes of it so hopefully the niggles will be ironed out with the next release. If you haven't got it already, then get it now. You won't regret it. Give me this over Call Of Duty Black Ops anyday!

Dead Rising 2
There are very few games where the sequel betters the original. Dead Rising 2 does it superbly. It feels as though the concept is now fully realised here. All of the things that plagued the first Dead Rising are now gone. The text is now readable (shock horror!), survivors will stay where they are after cut scenes and are not just zombie fodder when they're not by your side. Not to mention everything feels smoother with better graphics and gameplay. The game can handle so much more. More zombies, more weapons, more of the lovely blood and guts. The addition of combo weapons is pure genius, making for some inventive and downright hilarious options. My favourite still has to the ultra powerful guitar which makes zombies heads explode! Also the story in Dead Rising 2 is better and Chuck Greene is a more entertaining and likable character than Frank West. I have nothing against Frank but Chuck brings the attitude and heart in spades. The only problem is I wouldn't describe the location as a city. It it is more a much larger mall so don't expect going around the streets like in Case: Zero. If you haven't played the original. You don't really need to. This is the much better game and if you're a newcomer then you won't get lost at all. If you have a 360 I recommend downloading Case: Zero along with it as a great introduction too. Again this is a must have for this year.

Goldeneye 007 (Wii Remake)

Hmm...interesting. With development and remake hell for several years we all expected Mr Bond to die. It's had great scores and reviews but are they on the money...penny (No, I am not apologising for that joke!) or are they are just a load of old Oddjob?

*rotten tomatoes are hurled*

Thank you! I'll be here all week!
Check back in the next couple of days to find out (I mean it this time!)

For this week's music we are going back to the old school and obscure:

This is the start up to a brilliant game which never got the praise it deserved. Hired Guns for the Commodore Amiga 600. The music here is fantastic like the game itself and a review will be coming very shortly!

Please try to refrain your laughter when you read that this was run best with a machine with 2MB of graphic memory. It was a lot at one point!

Exploding My Way Back! Explodemon Preview

2010-11-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

After a long break it's time for some investigative and informational journalism. Well come to think of it, journalism's the wrong word as I have neither the skill or professionalism to call it that. How about I have lots of cool stuff to tell you? Yeah that's a bit better! Now that's sorted let's crack on.

Last weekend I went to my biggest geeky convention. The MCM London Expo. A magical place where geeks of anime, manga, video games, comics, table top games, cosplay and other hobbies unite! Now it's mostly geared towards anime (Japanese animation for those who really like their home of rocks and sand) which I went for in the first place. But there was also a gaming village with some of the biggest gaming names including Nintendo, Sega, Capcom alongside new and smaller studios. Over this week I shall give my insights into the games that I played there which have either never been seen before or have not yet been released here in the UK.

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to check out everything due to my anime, japan, comic and cosplay fandom but I did get to play quite a few interesting new games. Before I went to the convention I was most interested in the smaller developers as you can often find things that aren't largely reported and they usually have a more honest approach towards gaming. One stand I was interested in belonged to UK developer, Curve Studios, who were premiering a brand new game that I knew nothing about. Explodemon. All I knew was that it was a brand new game that hadn't been shown before the public eye. Until now.

What's it all about?

Explodemon (pronounced explode-a-mon) is a 2.5D action platforming game made by a small developer called Curve Studios. The story is set in the kingdom of Nibia during an attack from evil alien robotic forces. All of Nibia's guardians are no more except for one, Explodemon. However in the humourous opening cutscene (cutscenes are presented in lovely colourful comic book fashion) the king of Nibia is much happier to admit defeat and surrender to these evil overlords. The reason? Explodemon is apparently "unstable" and there have been incidents in the past involving his powers.

However, Explodemon's resting place of slumber is shattered open, leaving him free to do what he does best: explode these guys into next year and restore Nibia back to it's former glory.

What's Invovled?

Explodemon isn't like other platformers. The main character's power is what you have already guessed. He explodes but doesn't die. But thanks to the folks at Curve Studios, it s far more than just that.

The intruiging thing about Explodemon is that for the powers that explodemon has, a lot comes out of it. Firstly exploding can be used to destroy near-by baddies but with one explosion being used at a time, it means you have to think more carefully about how you battle enemies as they won't die in just one simple hit. Whenever you explode you have to wait a couple of second for a meter to refill so you can do it again!

You can use explosions to battle enemies in different ways. If you run towards and enemy and then explode, you will start to dash at fast speed and bash right through them. This is a great tactic for fighting multiple enemies.

Even then, there are still more possibilities. Often there will be other objects such as boxes that you can send flying straight into the face of an adversary for a satisfying kill.

Even with all this, there is still more depth to the gameplay. On the left is a dual purpose meter from top to bottom which measures how in tune you are into the game play as well as acting as a life gauge. The more enemies you destroy the more the meter will fill, leveling you up temporarily. There are 3 levels and when you reach the top, Explodemon will become more powerful. Keeping this at full and not taking damage is just another thing for skilled players to achieve. There is also a more permanant levelling up system in place too. When collecting inverted triangle shapes, they can be used as currency to purchase more permanant upgrades to keep Explodemon at his exploding best. I would guess that some secrets or sections of levels will be accessible once obtaining certain power-ups.

But the gameplay mechanics don't end there! Explodemon is a platformer with a puzzling side. Explodemon can use his exploding for solving puzzles and interact with the level itself. For example, there maybe hard to reach areas or points where you are blocked off by walls and other obstructions. You can explode through the wall and repel items to go onto switches, go through laser doors or even blow up other items!

The level design is looking great. The levels are not simple A to B routes but feature a variety of secret areas and passages that veer off the path of the level itself. A lot of these secrets will require you to think and search at every step because if you screw with items in the level, you may not be able to access extra areas. These bonus paths also have in store many treasures and collectibles as a reward for finding them too. Completionists will certainly be kept more than busy here. But for those less confident in their skills, there are many tutorial points in the level which you can choose to read should you get stuck.

Explodemon has a great futuristic city look to it all and it harks back to an age when games used to use something called colour, instead of the usual browns and blacks we see too often in games today. The graphics are lovely with a polished and simple flair.

Some seasoned gamers will compare this to Splosion Man, a download game for the Xbox360 released last year. However, any similarities are coincidental. Curve Studios have been working on this game long before Splosion Man even existed! The first version of the game was played by the press long before 'Splosion Man was even announced. Just thought I'd get that out of the way.

Let Us See It!

Here is an official trailer of Explodemon from Curve Studios' youtube channel. I'm particularly fond of the music heard! I've even allowed it room to cover my banners on the right!

Anything Else We Need To Know?

There will be 12 levels in the full game. Now 12 might not sound like a lot but these levels are nice and lengthy trust me. It's good to see because in many games today the levels are over before they've even begun! I must've spent at least 20 minutes playing.

It will be exclusive to Playstion 3's Playstation Network to download. I don't know how much it will cost but I'll be sure to let you know when the time comes. Although having said that, part of the team commented elsewhere it'll "DEFINATELY" be under £10.

There isn't a specific release date yet but it's coming out before the end of the year. That much I do know.

What Do You Reckon Churchy?

Well it's probably obvious from the way I've written this but here goes:

All I knew before going to the MCM Expo was that some smaller developers like Curve Studios were present and that Explodemon was making it's first public appearance at there. I always like to give the smaller developers a try and was intruiged. I was not disappointed.

The controls are done exceptionally well. They are the type of controls that are extremely easy, simple to use. You take to them almost immediately, so the learning process is a doddle. This allows you to sink into the atmosphere of the game instantly and feel in control. My only bit of critical feedback I would give is that I would like to see more walljumping implemented combined with explosions. But seeing as how there is more of the game beyond what I've played, it could very well be there. Either that or I was just a bit rubbish.

Although there was the influence of Megaman in the main hero's character design (I think it looked more like Protoman to be honest), it still seemed nice and fresh. Megaman is a robot designed to do good and is controlled within his own power. Explodemon is an action thirsty guardian who wants to blow up as much as possible and for that reason he is a character who is much more fun!

What was great is that while I sunk into the game I was left with a real fun spirit that I hadn't felt in a long time. Although there is a influence of the old Mega Man games, I was taken back to the days of platforming on the first playstation, when 3D games where hitting the scene. The spirit of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Ape Escape was here. Not because the game felt like them in terms of mechanics or style but it was made by people who care and who wanted to create a spirit of fun.

I was kindly greeted by a woman who works at Curve but unfortunately I can't remember her name or her job title, so if you are reading this I am dreadfully sorry. Please tell me who you are and I will edit this straight away! I told you I wasn't professional!

However, she was really nice and we got a picture together on the main display screen.

I think what impressed me the most was the Studio's attitude. Today a lot of big gaming companies are soulless and have lost the reason for their original creation: To create games that are either fun, express a view or do something new that hasn't been done before. Curve studios are passionate about what they do. Although they have mainly just programmed the Buzz titles until now, you can tell that they were just making their way up the ladder. Watch Curve Studios, download Explodemon the second it comes out and support them. They more than deserve it.

Explodemon was easy and interesting to play but more importantly it is a hell of a lot of fun.

To get more info on Curve Studios go to their website:

www.curve-studios.com

follow them on twitter:
http://twitter.com/curvestudios

on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Curve-Studios/364770057937

or send them an email:
hello@curve-studios.com

Oh and for today's piece of gaming music. It is from the underrated action game WET!
A highly underrated game with a grimy rock n roll soundtrack!
Happy gaming guys and girls!

Featured In NGamer!

2010-09-21T03:38:00.000-07:00

Okay today the Churchy Excite-O-Meter is off the charts! I have been featured in NGamer magazine. It appears to be broken so we'll just put up a picture of Bruce Lee. He's been in a few games so it's okay!

BRUCE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY!

"NGamer has not offended my family or the Shaolin Temple. So all is well."

Thanks Bruce!

Anyway the reason I am excited is because about a month or two ago I sent a letter to NGamer regarding the 3DS and I how thought that instead of using 3D purely for looks it could also be used as a control scheme (perhaps using the switch for it to turn illusions on and off etc) and yesterday I got my subscriber's copy of this months NGamer. MY LETTER HAS BEEN FEATURED. Today a letter in NGamer, tomorrow the world MWHA MWHA!

*puts on evil cape and twiddles false mustache*

But seriously it's great to have some acknowledgement from the only games mag I buy. Grab issue 54 of NGamer now. You should be able to buy it from all good newsagents (if they don't have it then they might not be as good as previously suspected) Check it out and read my letter! Also get the mag anyway as it's awesome!

I will have more soon featuring the release of Dead Rising 2. Also my thoughts on publisher's attacking the 2nd hand market of video games. Yes, some really are thinking that at the minute!

Today's Gaming Track
Daytona USA Theme: Let's Go Away

An awesome piece of gaming music that is so bad it's good. If you were ever in an arcade in the 90's you will know this song just from it playing in the background. A brilliant racing game. This theme for the game is so fun and it shouldn't be good but it is!

Anyway keep gaming guys and peace out!

If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On

2010-09-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

I've decided to follow up on my post about gaming soundtracks and their composers. Because today I will run you through some of the series and games that are among my favourite gaming soundtracks. I'm a fan of instrumental music anyway and some of these albums and pieces rank up there with some of my favourite music of all time. Here are some of the best soundtracks ever made. Unfortunately some gaming soundtracks cannot be bought because they were never printed officially and some are incredibly hard to track down or are sold at extortinate prices. If you can't buy them...get them through other methods. I might be able to help if you ask nicely!

Anyway here are some of the best soundtracks ever made in gaming. This does not necessarily mean they are brilliant games (although most of them are). These are just the ones with the best music. There are many more beyond this as many of the series featured have great ones spanning all games. (Disclaimer: I am only including original works so no Guitar Hero or Rockband or Triangle Hero or whatever the hell they've released now!)

Silent Hill 2 by Akira Yamaoka

This soundtrack is a masterpiece. I'm not kidding. It amps the terror and horror of Silent Hill 2 perfectly. Expresses the themes of the characters, plot and setting through music perfectly but the music is great in it's own right. I think what impresses me most about this soundtrack is that it has a collection of pieces that you can listen to in different moods and feel something different every time. Very few pieces of music I find, have that quality.

Here is one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack:

Pokemon Colosseum by Tsukasa Tawada

Pokemon Colosseum is actually a pretty good game overall. But to be honest the soundtrack is the standout point of the game for me. I think the best thing about it is that it's varied. There are some really nice peaceful and quiet pieces here that you can definately relax to. Also it has the best pokemon battle music theme ever (which is sadly underused in the game!)

Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and Zelda: The Wind Waker by Koji Kondo

Zelda had to feature somewhere. These two soundtracks are so great, that I can't compare them. The sheer number of pieces here is astounding and pretty mcuh all of them are wonderful to listen to and evoke some serious imagination and mood. Luckily both of these are not too hard to find but they may not come cheap!

Here's one from Ocarina Of Time by Koji Kondo

Here's one from Wind Waker by composers:Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi and Koji Kondo

Golden Sun by Motoi Sakuraba

This mention is a bit bittersweet. Now this game in itself is amazing but the soundtrack even more so. It is some testament when a Gameboy Advance game has a sountrack that can stand up to home consoles with better soundchips. The composer did a fantastic job with this and so did the developers to get the sound out of the GBA. Unfortunately you can't buy this and the only way to get the songs is to rip the audio from youtube videos but I have a better suggestion that I reveal next time. Find people who have re-arranged the songs already or perform them with groups. But that is something I will cover next time.

Enjoy these soundtracks and please feel free to comment on what some of your favourites are! Could also just be video game songs or themes!

Peace out guys!

Music To My Ears

2010-09-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Lets throw a few names around:

- Koji Kondo
- Akira Yamaoka
- Jesper Kyd
- Yoko Shimamura
- Harry Gregson-Williams

If you listen to gaming music or know a bit about it, you will know at least a few of the names on this list. These people are video game composers and they play a more vital role than you might imagine.

One thing that can make or break a game is the music. Would a horror game really be as scary without some great music to accompany it? Or would an balls to the wall action game seem as epic without the fitting soundtrack? No. In fact music slips into the background and people remember it even though they don't make a conscious note of it. So you're still telling me you don't make a note of the music? Okay then.

Let's do a little test:

STEP 1

Hum the Mario theme...Spot on.

STEP 2

Hum the Zelda theme...Again, you've got it.

STEP 3

Hum the theme of your favourite game.

Instantly recogniseable am I right? You can recall it and re-create it quicker than any visual part of the game. Even sound effects are ingrained into our brain. Hell for some the Acheievement Unlocked sound effect is more important than a doorbell!

Well I'm a little different. I often like to pick out a game's soundtrack. It is something which is often worked on just as hard as the game itself. I often find that I can listen to game soundtracks on their own. Even the old 8-bit soundtracks are fun to listen to. Usually because they're so well written or just so catchy, you can't help but love them. Sometimes videogames are slightly spoiled by their soundtrack or a feeling is lacking because of it. Sometimes the reverse is true. You get a well made soundtrack and not such a well made game. If you ever get both. Then it's pure magic.

One great example of how a soundtrack makes a game is the Silent Hill series where the music is composed by Akira Yamaoka. Some fans identify his music as being one of the scariest parts of the experience! But with him having left konami who knows what he will score next?!

Live performances of game music involving whole orchestras even take place. Although they used to most commonly happen in Japan, other fans composers and collections of musical people put are spreading it around the globe. There is even Video Games Live (a touring production that performs a range of some of gaming's best musical numbers to everywhere around the world) Next time they're in London I suggest you go!

Visit the site:
http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=home

Even Beethoven would be proud of gaming's finest composers!

From time to time I will put up some great gaming songs from a variety of soundtracks. Eventually I will do through whole soundtracks and even do a top 20 list.

Here is a song from a slightly dissapointing game with a varied soundtrack. Some of it great, some of it not so. The game is Tekken 6. While though I enjoy the arcade mode to a point. It doesn't make me scream with excitement. But there is one song on the soundtrack that is amazing and is hardly used (Only during a small section of near the end of the horrible Scenario Campaign Mode!).

If Tekken could capture the power and energy that this song had and put it into the arcade mode without the extra crap. Then it could have been challenged Tekken 2 for my favourite series. Don't agree with me? Watch this trailer that used it! That is what the game should have felt like and this trailer should have been the opening for the game in my humble opinion!

But nevertheless I salute you composers for you have made some truly beautiful music. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

Playing Is Believing - Vanquish Preview

2010-09-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

VANQUISH

Lets see what the Churchy Excite-O-Meter has to say:

Losing my shit is the reading I see on this one. Now without further ado:

DOWNLOAD THIS FUCKING DEMO NOW!!

Okay after that rabid statement all I can ask you to do is just that.

Okay...calming down now...

*takes calming pills and a very deep breath, several in fact*

Okay. Okay. I'm alright now. Right now on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network is a demo for a game which is probably the most insane thing I've ever played. Of course in this sense insane is the best compliment I can give. It is one of the most awesome demos I've played in a long time. As you know I've been saying that the last two years of gaming have been a bit lacking compared to other times. I will go more into this in my next post but Vanquish is one of those titles that's reigniting my excitement from just playing the demo. But enough of me needing a new pair of trousers. What the hell is Vanquish and why have I had such a violent reaction to it?

Vanquish is a 3rd person shooter made by Platinum Games (proving themsleves to be an awesome developer with such games as Infinite Space and Bayonetta). The director is Shinji Mikami (known for creating the Resident Evil series on working on such games as Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry) and the game is a sci-fi action game but that's something of an undertstatement as it is far more than that.

Essentially you are a soldier in an ultra high powered suit with it's own energy supply. The suit has all sorts of powers, the first of which is a rocket boosters using to slide and dash along the floor at fast speeds. But it gets better, you can dash and shoot at the same time. But it's not as linear as that. You can steer as you dash, dash towards the screen and away from enemies whilst shooting them over you shoulder, while finding cover. That's just the beginning of what you can do.

The game engine has it's roots in the Gears of War system but if anything it's taken a sapling and grown a fucking forest on top of it. There is a one button system for cover. Also you can dive around forwards, backwards and side to side. But unlike gears where the actions are mostly separate, you can link moves together. For example, you could be dashing towards an enemy, then suddenly a giant mechanic walker shoots a rocket at you. You can instant just dodge out of the way, get cover and link moves together. All of the movement controls seamlessly go from one function to another. There are also Melee attacks which are ridiculously powerful (you smash your way through steel doors in the tutorial!). But that's still not everything to do with movement! When you get low on health you will automatically enter a critical state where a bullet time mechanic comes into play. But there is only a certain amount of time you have to use it off your enemies. In this bullet time mode you also get reticules making it clearer where you targets are and where best to hit them. But this mode isn't just limited to when you're in a spot of bother, you can also trigger this with full health. But don't all these powers make the game sound a bit easy? It would be but there is limit on it. As the suit is run on energy you have a bar at the bottom. All of the boosting, time-slowing and monster melee attacks use up energy on the bar. The bar refills whenever you're not using up energy but should you run it all the way down, you have a period of time where you cannot use any of your special attacks (just your guns which we will get too next) for awhile while the suit starts emitting electric static and takes time to recharger back to full.

Okay, deep breath.

Now after all that we only just get to the weapons. The weapons take no energy to use. Like Gears of War, you select which weapon to use with the D-Pad and can only have 3 weapons held at one time, with an extra slot for grenades. But of course this is sci-fi and the guns are futuristic versions of what we know and love: assualt rifles, shotguns, rocket launchers. But there are also some new weapons available such as a Disc Launcher which fires a disc to chop up the nasties! But again evolutions have been put in place to a system which many people know. The gun change is far quicker and also you don't have to switch between guns and grenades. You have a dedicated button for Grenades so you can fire your gun and through grenades without much interruption to your burst of fire. The D-Pad is used to switch between the types of grenades. The Grenades available are the usual frag grenades, a slightly longer timed frag grenade but also an EMP emitter which will disable enemies for a short period of time. But again we're still not finished. You also find power-ups and upgrades to guns (for example on I picked up increased my ammo capacity by 25%!) which introduces slight RPG elements to the proceedings. Will you be able to level up your suit in the full game? I'm not sure.

Now that alone was the mechanics and it might sound ridiculously complicated but weirdly enough, it isn't. Just make sure you play through the tutorial first and you'll have no problems. Everything brilliant connects and you can go from action to action without to much effort or hardwork. The mechanics are programmed brilliantly. It feels really fluid, fast, impressive and is suprisingly easy to pick up. Also it is far faster than the Gears Of War gameplay with much more going on.

Now we get to the actual gameplay. I'm not going to ruin it but you are with a team of other soldiers in sci-fi settings which feel original but also familiar with what we know. There are so many different types of enemies shooting you with all sorts of different weapons. To put it bluntly, it is insane, the amount of stuff going on is absolutely incredible with so many different enemies and projectiles all looking to destroy you. It rivals and betters some of Treasure's games (a developer known for throwing everything at you at once) and I think Platinum Games may actually take the prize for how much is taking place on screen. Treasure have to watch out. Not only that but the graphics look utterly fantastic and although there is the usual sci-fi metal sheen to the proceedings, there is plently of colour mixed in with it. Mostly coming from explosions of an electric nature. When you defeat the first boss it really is a wonder to behold.

Vanquish is only a single player game but to be honest it's best that way. Platinum Games said they wanted to make it that way so they could get the best experience possible and I believe they've done what they set out to do and more. It's obvious they've taken influence from other game engines but they've evolved it to a level that is superior and has it's own style and identity.

If you want to compare it to another game think of it like this. Take Max Payne, any Treasure shooter, WET, Gears Of War, Mecha Anime, add some LSD and you're somewhere close. This is really a game you have to see to believe and then playing it is an experience in itself. Before the demo starts up there is health warning about how the game might give you seizures. Download the demo on PS3 and Xbox 360 now and await the release in the UK on October 22nd. This is one hell of game that we're going to see. I don't get excited about many games these days but this is one of them and if the demo is anything to go by, dare I say it, this could be a game of the year on our hands!

PLAY IT NOW! Go on and lose your eye sight. It'll be worth it!

Keep The Gravy Train Rolling

2010-09-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hello all.

Stay tuned as in the next week there will be a lot of posts, news and random tidbits for you to enjoy.

I still am finding what I want to write about and focus on within gaming and I think what I will try and do is just scattershot everything and go for all sorts of things to write about and show you guys.

Hydrophobia News

Anyway after days of my Hydrophobia preview there is now an official release date:

SEPTEMBER 29TH

Write it down in your diaries and have 1200 Microsoft points at the ready if you want to get to playing it.

Your Dreams Are No Longer Castaways

Also for Sonic fans, the dreamcast classic Sonic Adventure will be released on Xbox Live arcade on September 15 for 800 Microsoft Points. It is also going to be released for the PSN but exact details haven't been given yet!

You'll Get What's Coming To Ya!

Also there will be more from me in the next week and a half which I can actually guarantee:
- The 2 round and finish of movie based games vs book based games (expect it in the next couple of days!)
- My thoughts on publishers trying to clamp down on the second hand market (it ain't going to be pretty!)
- Flashbacks to some old games (Amiga 600 here we come!)
- Possibly some reviews
- A weekly post delving into my experience of one of my favourite horror series
- The return of Churchy's "Excite-o-meter"

Stay tuned to find out more soon.

SAME CHURCHY TIME! SAME CHURCHY CHANNEL!

Film Based Games Vs Book Based Games (Round 1)

2010-08-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

First off lets start with a currently playing list:

At the moment I am currently playing:

- Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance (Gamecube)
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)
- Red Dead Redemption (360)
- Project Zero/Fatal Frame (PS2)

Anyway today's post is inspired by Christian's comments (the main commentor on my blog) about games being based on books turning out better than games based upon films. Now obviously there are exceptions to this rule but I agree. Games that are based on books are usually far better than than games based upon films.

Christian asked me a simple but important question. Why?

Well just from my own knowledge I think there are a few different reasons for this. You'll soon see that these issues overlap and relate quite closely to each other.

Making a quick buck

Most games that are based off of movies are usually released at the same time as the film in question is. It is made purely to sell. No more, no less. Publishers know that a game based on a popular license or movie series will sell so they get a rubbish developer or hire people who really don't care about what they're doing to make the game. Basically just to rip us off. For example they would know that a game based on James Cameron's Avatar or the animated show Avatar will sell like hotcakes but no matter how much you like the game it'll still be pretty bad. This is legalised extortion at it's worst.

It's the final countdown! Duh duh duh duh. duh duh duh duh duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...excuse me
Studios are often given ridiculous deadlines to finish the game. This is to coincide with the film it's based on to gain the highest sales possible. A studio or a team is hired to make the game and given very little direction as to what to do (sometimes teams are assembled just for that game specifically) so they really have no idea where to go or what aspect to base the game on. The most notorious example of this is the game made of E.T. for the Atari 2600. It is said to be one of the worst games ever made. The main designer was given 6 weeks to come up with a game. (God I've hardly managed much on my blog so far - let alone a fucking video game!)

Sometimes this overlaps and combines with making a quick buck. When this combination happens then you get the worst results possible!

I can't do it captain! I don't have the power!

This kind of links in with the first point but sometimes a game is to be made and the movie it's supposed to be based on, simply isn't game material due to narrative structure, lack of action or that the actions carried out in the film just don't qualify as game material. Again E.T. like so many others falls prey to this. I can't imagine how you would make a game base on ET, make it fun, creative or even making it last.

For example I can't imagine a game based on Eraserhead can you?

Which brings me onto my next point. Time frame. A film has a finite time of running. So there is only a certain amount of material from which a game can take from. It's very hard to pad out what is already there. Your average film lasts about 90-120 mins and a game usually has a much longer playtime than that. With a book it depends on what kind of reader you are. You may re-read sections or you may spend longer on certain sections to get a better idea in your mind's eye of what's going or to further examine a plotpoint.

Also everything is shown to you on screen in a film. Thus everyone has similar expectations of how a game based on a film will look due to the visual style already being dictated in film format. This doesn't happen with a book. Although a description of a location in words never changes, people partly create the location in their mind for themselves. Little details maybe different and people will come up with their own interpretations of how it looks and there can be more possibilities.

Or sometimes the movie the game is based on is a pile of shit and the game is doomed from day one. I can't imagine Shigeru Miyamoto being able to make a good game out of say Epic Movie. Actually...lets not give anyone any ideas! Don't blame me if it happens!

We can find a better place in this twilight

So after all of these portents of doom you would think that all games based on movies should be avoided right? No actually for there are a few which break the mold and show that if you go about it the right way you can get a great game for both fans of the films and for gamers in general.

Here are some of the best in my opinion:

- The Super Star Wars Trilogy (SNES)

Now there have been many games based off of the Star Wars universe, many of which are great games. But out of the ones that take their story directly from the films, this trilogy of games is brilliant. But beware the difficulty can get a bit tough in these games. I would include the lego star wars games too but I'm sticking to just one franchise at a time!

- Goldeneye 007 (N64)

Not just one of the best video games based on a movie ever made. But one of the best video games ever made. I know people who don't care about the movie or James Bond but they love this game. It was the game that every FPS afterwards tried to emulate.

- Spiderman 2 (Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, PC)

This game let you do what makes spiderman awesome, swinging through a big city with web powers exploring the sights with nothing to stop you. And you got to play out the story from the film which is hailed as a great comic book movie. Need I say more?

- The Warriors (PS2, Xbox)

Based off of the late 70's film. This game is essentially a beat em up which features so much of the Warrior's universe (I use that term loosely as there was one film to my knowledge) in terms of character. There are plenty of missions to play through and also the story of the film is covered too. Add in co-op and you have a fun beat em up game which is definately worth playing

Other Recommendations (I haven't played them but they have a good reputation)

- Toy Story 2 (N64, Playstation, Dreamcast)
- Batman (NES)
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox, PC)

If there are any you like then share it in the comments section. There may be some I haven't played or missed out altogether!

Well that's the first round in the fight between film based games vs book based games. Stay tuned when I shall return with an examination of book based games and also bring another twist to the discussion. Thanks again to Christian who inspired this!

See you soon!

Oh and upon doing research into some of these games. I found out a video game of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas really exists only in Europe. I think I may have to track it down to see how bad it is!

Quick Plays

2010-08-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hey there all. This will be a very short post about what I have played ahead of schedule thus far and what I can tell you about a couple of games.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Now the demo is released on UK Xbox Live Arcade in a few days but I have managed to play the Japanese version already (I won't explain how but it isn't by illegal means). Here's a lowdown of what to expect from the demo and possibly from the finished game.

- The demo runs in both English and Japanese (I was surprised to find English on the demo!)

- The Xbox version features less clean graphics than the PS3 version. There are a few jagged edges compared to the PS3 outing (but since the first game was exclusive to PS3 it hardly comes as a surprise)

- The controls are quite different to the other Naruto games on the 360. Basically one button to attack and combinations of the four main buttons (most pressed simultaneously rather than in succession) to perform:
- Chakra Dashes
- Throw Chakra Shuriken
- Charge Chakra

- You also get different ninja items to use quickly with the D-pad such as ninja paper bombs and floating kunai (tied to balloons)

So far it's shaping up to be a fun experience and I will have a preview for this soon along with my next game.

Metroid: Other M

I was lucky enough to be able to play this at the London Film and Comic Con about a month back. Nintendo where there with it and I playtested the half hour beta demo which in short was a great play and the story is looking like a big part of the game. My only reservation with the game was the motion controls in the first person sections. Expect a preview within the week. Trust me!

Also we talked to some of the Nintendo employees about what they knew about the 3DS. One said they didn't know but a second one we asked gave us the same answer but after a chat and more questions they changed it to "Maybe this year". So could it be we found out the vauge time period of when the 3DS will be released.

More to come in the week.

As always feel free to comment on anything blog or gaming related. If you want me to cover something inparticular, do top 10's or any other ideas, then let me know and I'll get back to you!

Ones To Watch Out For - Hydrophobia

2010-08-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

If you say "what?" or "I've never even heard of this game" then I forgive you.

It's been in development for sometime and it's something I would urge everyone to keep their eyes on as this looks like it could be a fantastic game.

What's It All About?

Essentially Hydrophobia is a dark adventure game with survival elements thrown in...and possibly a bit of horror (it's been dubbed with that title from some but seems more action based)

Get ready for a trip down futuristic dystopia lane.

The game is set in the middle of the 21st century and the world has become over populated. The game takes place on a city sized ship called "The Queen Of The World" which has been bombed by Malthusian Terrorists. They take their name and views from the writings of Thomas Malthus, who predicted that the human population would grow to large for all people to be fed and to be provided for. Because of this overpopulation the terrorists seek to destroy a large portion of mankind to solve the population crisis. In the trailer it says the seek to keep only half a billion humans alive. The reason they have struck the ship as a target is because it has been built and run by corporate giants. It is hinted that a technology to help the world in some way. But the Malthusians maintain that only the elite are benefitting.

The terrorists strike the ship and it begins to flood. They have a slogan to spread their message:

"Save the World - Kill Yourself"

You play Kate Wilson a systems engineer aboard the ship. You must survive this attack which is flooding the lower levels of the ship and stop the Malthusians. But the story seems like it will get far more indepth and that is something I most certainly welcome.

Let Us See It

When looking at the game for the first time I must say I was caught off guard when I learned it is to be released via Xbox Live Arcade in episodes. It was supposed to be released last year and for reasons unknown it did an Alan Wake and went away for awhile with a only a few trailers and screenshots, leaving a lot of mystery.

However luckily for us a proper trailer showing gameplay was released earlier this year and a playable demo was on hand at E3.

Here is the trailer:

And here is some gameplay footage from the folks at gametrailers.com:

Just before I finished this article - there was more on underwater combat at GamesCom

Anything Else We Need To Know?

Firstly, the games engine has been built from the ground up with a special engine commanding the phsyics of the water within the game (dubbed the "HydroEngine") and what the developer's promising sounds like it will make for a fun experience. As the engine simulates water phsyics as much as possible, the state of water, how water affects you character and vice versa, will be different on each playthrough.

The example we are given is if you do damage to a wall then water will enter from that point and could close off your way, forcing you to seek another method to your next destination. The aim of course is to make every playthrough unique.

Rob Hewson the designer has said this about the water physics:
"Player versus environment is certainly a large part of the experience, the wonderful thing about water is that it is constantly affecting every area of the environment, so you get incredible amounts of emergent behaviour. The player constantly has to adapt to the environment and react quickly because doors, walls and windows are going to cave in differently each time according to the distribution of water."

It is developed by the British studio: Dark Energy Digital formed by those of another games company called Blade Interactive (don't worry I ain't heard of them either!). Dark Energy Digital's resume mainly contains Snooker and Pool videogames. I haven't taken the delight of sampling them so for me they are a first time developer with no real track record. I'm always willing to give the new guys a try.

It is going to be released internationally including places like Japan with subtitles for multiple languages.

It was nominated for some awards at E3 by various journalistic types. Not that it means much to me but I found it surprising that a low key release such as this managed to get any attention at all!

What Do You Reckon Churchy?

For me it's a game that looks original, interesting, different and fun. It's just one of those things I get feeling about and that's before the more impressive and promising technical aspects come into play. This is something that looks truly original and fun. For some reason it has a very old school feel about it in terms of spirit. Also it's nice to see a female protagonist who isn't sexed up to the eyeballs (no jokes about other types of balls or round objects please!)

Everyone seems to be comparing it to Bioshock (because obviously anything with water means it must be somehow related to Bioshock) but if anything it reminds me of Overblood for the Playstation 1 in terms of it's spirit, darkness and hint of loneliness offered from what we've already seen. Unfortunately we still have no release date but you can expect a review and first impressions the day this comes out!

I urge you to keep watching this title and download the first episode when it's released as this one looks like it's going to be something special.

Back To The Future

2010-07-31T00:42:00.000-07:00

Okay. After an unsuccessful start (mainly on my part for not updating this properly and not knowing what I'm doing!) I have decided to come back to the future. How is that possible? Well in the time between this and my lost post. The future has shown itself to us in the form of E3 and other announcements since then.

I write this recovering from an operation and my downtime has inspired me to write and to comment on several things because I have been a busy little beaver. Today is double post day!

E3 Lucky

Often I'd felt that overall in games (on home consoles mainly) we'd gone through a dark and werid period in the last couple of periods. I have probably bought the least amount of console games these last 2 years than I ever have and I feel the emphasis on the technology/hardware over software is partially to blame. But this is something I won't get into here. I will do a very big feature on why I feel things have gone a bit downhill recently and how we could be on for another video game crash.

BUT...before that, things have been deterring me from expressing that opinion in it's savage entirity. What things you may ask? Well for some reason some developers and bods in their offices have shown they really still have a grip on things. Not all of them but things are not looking so bleak and I am actually excited again. But why? Because E3 was actually VERY good this year, not just mediocre or terrible as in the last couple of years. Also there have been some exciting announcements and reveals recently too.

Here are some of the more significant picks of gaming's future. Both good and bad (but mainly good) to show you what I'm keeping an eye out for. For this I shall be introducing a new device. Something which has never been seen before (disclaimer: may have been seen before) which will revolutionise and shorten reviews the world over. I give you...

THE CHURCHY EXCITE-O-METER

With these pictures you can see what I'm looking forward to and what I don't like the look of at the minute. So lets go off in a random order with the good games and announcments that have re-ignited my passion (slightly) for the future.

The 3DS (all brand new Nintendo console)

ROCK ON! The new Ninty handheld that looks like it's going to be great. But I'm not that bothered about the 3D, it's the games I'm excited about. Expect an in-depth analysis of this very soon.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

AT LAST! One of my favourite Game Boy Advance games has a sequel on the DS. There is much rejoycing!

Metroid: Other M

PRETTY DAMN GOOD! Metroid: Other M is shaping up very nicely. You'll see why I'm not adding anything else at the bottom of this post.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

ROCK ON! Anyone who knows me knows I am an anime fan and that Naruto is one of my favourites. Of course like a lot of liscensced material not all of Naruto's games have been great. But with two great games from Ubisoft (Rise of A Ninja and The Broken Bond) along with Ultimate Ninja Storm, a sequel has been announced and it looks incredible so far. For 360 as well as PS3 this time in autumn!

Studio Ghibli's Ninokuni (PS3 version)

ANOTHER ROCK ON! The PS3 version of Studio Ghibli's first venture into the gaming world (in conjunction with developer Level 5)looks fantastic on an aesthetic level. It's already caught my attention, but I'll still be watching it pan out.

Tekken x Street Fighter and Street Fighter x Tekken

INTERESTING...These two titles are joining up yet competing at the same time...I've already seen footage of the Street Fighter version which looks impressive but I'm waiting for the Tekken version. Partly because I suck at Street Fighter but also because I want something to make up for the slight letdown Tekken 6 was.

18+ Dreamcast games to be ported to XBLA

LOSING MY SHIT! Whoa. There are a few things in this world that make me this excited. The Dreamcast is one of my favourite consoles of all time and for so many titles being planned for release, it means that those who missed them first time around will be able to experience the greatness. There are so many possibilities here such as online Power Stone fights but the prospect that excites me the most is the possibility of both Shenmue titles getting released. We've had the main character Ryo featured in Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing, so it's safe to assume it will happen. But if they sold well then there maybe enough awareness and support for, dare I say it...SHENMUE 3!

So gaming is well and truly saved with these great titles plus more? right? Well not completely. Later on this week I shall be going through the hardware and software that I think is a waste of time (yes Kinect is in there!) and other products that are neither bad nor good or have yet to prove themselves worthy.

Also there will be two previews of some upcoming games. I managed to playtest Metroid:Other M at the London Film and Comic Con the other week so this should be interesting!

See you soon
Take care
Churchy

Floating In The Mists Of Time!

2010-05-10T03:50:00.001-07:00

Evening all. As my schedule is even more turbulant then previously thought, I have decided to leave no plans on the blog dates and when I write it will be completely unexpected. So just keep checking back. It could be anything. I can say for sure that the "Starter Kits" are on the way and if there is any demand for a particular console starter kit, I will try my hand at that first.

This week I bring you my top 10 games that are in most need of a sequel or continuation:

1. Shenmue
2. Starfox (In the old style like Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64
3. Zack and Wiki
4. Donkey Kong (he needs a decent platforming game - Donkey Kong World needs to be released I'm not fussed whether it's 2D or 3D
5. Lost Odyssey
6. Jet Set Radio
7. Beneath A Steel Sky
8. Comix Zone
9. Power Stone (we need a third one!)
10. Guardian Heroes (fantastic 6 player Saturn game that needs a revival)

Other mentions:
- Resident Evil (Numbers 4 and 5 are not survival horror)

- Timesplitters (I know there was a sequel in the works but as we have no idea what is happening I say it makes the list at number 10)

What am I playing now?:
- Pokemon Soul Silver (A fantastic remake of gold/silver with all the 'mon thrown in for good measure. Curse the pokewalker for requiring 100,000 watts to unlock everything)
- Dead Rising (I am revisiting it and trying to complete it properly and it's even better than I remembered! If you haven't played it then do so now. If you are an old school gamer, then this is the current gen game for you. If anyone has all the achievements then I salute you)
- Skate 2 (Due to the downfall of the Tony Hawk's series, Skate is a great game once you get used to the control system and dare I say it, may actually surpass the Tony Hawks series. A review of number 2 and 3 soon to come when I get my hands on it)

This weeks silly E3 predictions:
- Shigsy will unleash his army of killer robot Reggies (Reggie Fils-Aime for those who don't know) upon the world and shall be our new overlord.
- Iwata shall demonstrate the vitality sensor and will suffer a cardiac arrest during it's use, resulting in ironic hilarity.

This weeks serious E3 predictions:
- We will get information or a glimpse of the Wii successor

- Both Sony and Microsoft will announce something BIG that no-one had anticipated.

- A new Sony handheld will be shown

This weeks unlikely E3 predictions:
- SHENMUE 3!!!!!

A New Turn

2010-02-27T01:54:00.000-08:00

First of all a big thank you for those who have even checked my blog out. I sometimes get people randomly tell me about it. To be honest I didn't even expect thatto happen even once. So a huge thank you to you guys who have read (or perhaps keep reading) this space. As the few reading. Tell me if there is anything that you want me to comment on and I will do it. Whether it's advice on game recommendations or even random questions like: "Who would win in a fight? Solid Snake or Bruce Lee?" Of course I would pick Bruce every time but I digress.

Since my funding has gone to nothing (well it was nothing before so we'll consider it less than nothing!) I've decided to change tack. I shall not report the latest news stories as you can find them everywhere before you'd even get here. Instead I shall comment on them or what I reckon to them. Or if I'm very lucky. I'll report something that only I know about.

Also I am not going to do up to date previews or reviews as my timetable regularly shifts, making this very difficult. So I have vowed not to promise things I can't do. This means that the previews of Heavy Rain and new games are out of the way. Things like this also take up a lot of space too. I need to refine my writing before I can type reviews that do a game justice without taking a decade to read. So starting today I am going to give a small snippet of my thoughts on gaming at the minute. They could be random, funny or informative but they will only be a few lines:

So starting today. Here's what's been on my mind:

- Motion control is not the way foward. Not only is the technology not developed enough but I think the whole approach is merely creativity for creativity's sake. It will be this decades "Virtual Reality" (I'll gladly admit I was wrong if it doesn't turn out that way)
- Special Editions are slowly becoming less and less special (Bioshock 2 being one the exceptions to this)
- I want more news on Sadness for the Wii and Shenmue 3!

After that I can now tell you what I plan to do over the next few weeks:

- Make what I call "Starter Kits". These are guides for people looking to buy a console they have little knowledge of. For these I will focus on a particular console and run off one game for each genre that I think will get players started for it. They may not be the best or most well known. But they are the ones that will introduce them to a certain platform. I'm currently writing one for the Dreamcast, Playstation 1 and today's current platforms. Expect these in the following weeks.

- Reviews on whatever the hell I want. These will be completely random picked by me. They might be bad games, good games or just damn right weird.

- A feature on pokemon. A look at the remakes of Pokemon Gold and Silver and the future of the series. But this will have something that I can add that few else can. I have a vague inside scoop from someone working for pokemon (you think I may be kidding but just wait and see!)

So thank you for reading again. I will try and give weekly updates but I might add in a few little notes here and there.

Keep gaming guys and leave comments upon anything related to gaming.

Churchy

Badniks Beware!

2010-02-04T11:14:00.001-08:00

All right. Due to the rest of my life throwing things in my way I have been unable to attend the blog. I shall have the Heavy Rain preview coming, along with thoughts on Bioshock 2 and a friend helping with a Mass Effect 2 review.

But I thought I'd start with some simple news and my opinion on a few things surrounding it.

Sonic The Hedgehog 4. That's right. If you haven't heard about this yet, then Sonic The Hedgehog will be released (in episodic format) this summer on PSN, Wii Ware, Xbox Live Arcade and an unknown format (simply marked with question marks - speculation throws up the iphone as the most logical choice but who knows?!).

The following trailer will be spread like wild fire so I doubt you'll have a hard time finding it but here's a link anyway. There is hardly any gameplay footage but it is exciting to know it's being worked on as you read this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFzi5p8_hQg

My Opinion

I'm excited about this. It's great to hear about a new sonic game and I think the fact that it's just number 4 makes it feel like a true sequel to the original games. I think the blend of 2D and 3D will work well.

The episodic release is an interesting choice. But I think they could utilise it to work. For example I thought that maybe we could even have a fan directed surface so SEGA could even ask for feedback on what should be included next. Should there be more fast paced sections? Bigger bosses? Extra characters? Online time trial? Who knows. I just have a feeling they wouldn't have chose an episodic release unless it was for a particular purpose. We can only speculate as of now.

This was one thing I was hoping they would do. In fact when I was in discussion with my gaming friends one us said "They should make Sonic The Hedgehog 4".
I know it might sound like I'm asking for too much but I think a great way to follow this would be to make another game in the Rush series and make Sonic Adventure 3. If they are all made the way they should Sonic will once again be back on top of the mountain where he belongs.

To check out news, concept art and other information that is slowly being released visit the official site (I must say it is nice to hear the selection sound from the menus of Sonic Adventure 2):

http://www.sonicthehedgehog4.co.uk/en/

I'll be interested in seeing how this develops.

Slinging Mud

For some reason Sonic fans and gamers alike have already started picking it apart already and I really don't understand this. Especially from the so called fans. People have been criticisng everything they can from just a few seconds of proper footage including:

- Sonic's movement not being right
- The rings being too big
- The game being too fast
- The game being too slow
- The graphics aren't just like the old games
- Sonic should be in 2D
- Sonic not slowing down properly
- Being released in episodic format

Okay I can understand the last criticism as it is a bit strange to think of a Sonic game being release in this way as it hasn't happened before. But already I have heard so many conflicting and down right pedantic complaints based on hardly anything!

Nostalgic Senility

This is what I have come to call this phenomonon and for some reason it occurs mostly with sonic games. Everyone seems to always be hung up on the fact that no new Sonic game is exactly like the older games in the 90's and that they are not as good. People seem to always complain about the new ones for some unkown reason and expect them to emulate the exact experiences of old. But I'll put forth the truth. THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE. Sonic needs to change just like any other gaming franchise or series. I think people hold onto the old a little too much sometimes. If you love the old games so much, then shouldn't that love still keep you playing without need for a new? But that solution seems lost on some.

Sonic needs to change. It can't stay the same. It's just about getting the right balance between keeping the spirit and feel of a sonic game whilst gradually discovering new possibilities for the spiky blue hedgehog. The last game to do that for me properly was Sonic Adventure 2 because the spirit of the game just felt real and like Sonic. Sonic Unleashed did it well with the Sonic sections too but other aspects of the game stopped it from being great.

Sonic has a divided fanbase as it is but complaints like this only seem to make the issue more complicated. Frankly I'm tired of hearing them when they are unfounded. I feel sorry for Sega as no matter what they do, no one seems to be happy but hopefully people will shut up and let them do it this time around. Starting from now, I will do just that.

P.S. Feel free to add your thoughts on this news through your comments.

Preview of 2010

2010-01-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

As I'm new to this kind of writing. I've discovered one thing. I tend to waffle on a bit and I seem to extend any point that I wish to make for the purposes of- see what I mean? As a result of this I've decided to start writing in a snappy fashion. Although I would like to back up my thoughts as much as possible for gaming news, events etc. I will save that up or condense it until I start doing reviews and previews.

Most Anticipated Games of 2010

Even in the midst of weird rumours that the world is supposed to end soon after my 21st birthday lucky me, I'm still exicted about this years gaming to come. I have a feeling that this year will be one of gaming's finest (I feel the last 2 overall have a been a tad stale compared to before).Anyway with the new year upon us there is much excitement as games have been saved up specifically for the new year and it looks to be a good year for all gamers. It would take me forever to list all of the games that are pre-order worthy so here's a list of what I'm most looking foward to playing in the new english year. (I'm a bit more excited about Chinese New Year)

- Heavy Rain for PS3 (It's like I'm waiting to get Shenmue again, oh happy days
- Final fan...fuck it you already know what I'm going to write (no it isn't Crystal Bearers if that's enough of a clue - can anyone in the US let me know if it's any good)
- Sin and Punishment 2 for Wii
- Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing (I actually have hopes for this seeing how I was a little disappointed with Mario Kart Wii)
- Mafia II
- The Last Guardian
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
- Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
- Metroid: Other M
- Bioshock 2
- Fragile Dreams Farewell Ruins Of The Moon
- Dragon Quest IX

Here are some games that I would like to hear more about:

- The new Zelda game (which bit of speculation did the internet get right?)
- Golden Sun DS (If you haven't played any of the golden sun games on the Game Boy Advance then start with the first one by getting it NOW!)
- Hotel Dusk 2

Announcements I would like to hear:
- SHENMUE 3 IS FINALLY IN PROGRESS TO BE RELEASED! (sorry but as a huge shenmue fan this is always a top priority)
- Some information on the state of Timesplitters 4
- A new survival horror game which looks like a must buy
- Some more "Duke Nukem is coming" news when we all know it isn't
- Capcom apologising for Resident Evil 4 and 5 (yeah thats right - that isn't a spelling mistake - you have an old school resi fanboy right here - we'll get to that another time)
- What Akira Yamaoka will move onto next after leaving Konami

All of these are of course off the top of my head so I may have missed out a few things. You now know the games I'm anticipating but what about you? What are the gems you are going to preorder? Feel free to leave any comments and tell me!

Coming soon:
- Preview of Heavy Rain
- Motion Control - is it just a fad or is it shaping the future?

Anyway see you around guys and thanks to everyone who has read or commented on the blog so far. Feel free to make suggestions on the blog or ask me questions about gaming.

Churchy

Ho,ho,ho etc

2009-12-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone. Hope the holidays are going well and that you're all enjoying yourselves (I know I am!!) and that you're with the ones you most love or that you're in good company in general. I love x-mas and am thoroughly enjoying myself. It might seem weird to start a blog now but I'd been working on some ready made content and things just sort of clicked. Also my grandad is round and I thought I'd do something productive while I'm in downtime. But anyway just thought I'd post what I'd got for christmas mostly for the gaming related things. Gaming wise it's been a good year for presents.
So far I've gotten for DS: Lux-Pain and Yoshi's Island DS. For Xbox 360: Tekken 6. For PS1: Parasite Eve II and Tekken 3. For PS2: Ico

Currently I am not playing at the minute as my brother has decided to be extremely festive and indulge in some old school Resident Evil 2 action, making zombie noises no less.

All this festive gaming got me thinking about what the best game I ever got for christmas. It may also spark off some memories for you too. Feel free to share them in the comment box. Also are there any really bad games that were brought for you. Are there any horrific memories to go along with the golden ones?

The best game I ever had for Christmas belongs to Golden Sun for the Game Boy Advance. It's one of my favourite games of all time. I actually saw the Japanese preview of it in N64 Magazine (the predecessor to NGC and Ngamer magazine, natch) and loved the style of it (I'm a huge anime fan so I liked the way that the characters had a similar style!) and I remember being blown away by everything. The graphics, the story, the characters, the soundtrack (one of my favourite ones) and the awesomeness never let up. I would award it a perfect 10/10 because I love it that much. It does everything right.

I've been quite lucky as people usually give me money if they don't know what I want or know enough about games. I'd say the worst one was Spyro: Season of Ice for Gameboy Advance. It isn't a bad game necessarily. It's just the isometric view doesn't quite work for me and it sometimes leads to confusion.

Anyway that's a quick christmas update from me. Coming soon I shall be doing a few reviews and previews of video games. For the preview, all I can say is that it's a highly anticipated PS3 game which ISN'T Final Fantasy XIII!

Anyway peace out guys.
Have some fun holiday gaming.
Churchy

Coming Out Of The Darkness

2009-12-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

Hello to anyone who may read this. I set up this blog awhile ago in the hopes that I could actually get posting and because of reasons I won't go into that wasn't possible. Now this blog will be purely for video games. That means anything and everything to do with it. I might talk about video games new and old, reviews, previews, gaming guides (information on what is best to buy, hidden gems etc) or even about things I spot in the world around me such as random gaming merch.

But I'll try and make it as fun, informative and relaxed as possible. I'm going to keep it quite casual as that's what I'm like as a person so expect all sorts of different posts varying in length and who knows what'll happen. I've never really written anything like this so if I keep going I'll be finding my style and ground as I go on! Who knows we may have some pictures, some reader participation and perhaps some videos if this goes well! Now...LET THE GEEK OUT COMMENCE!

To start with I'll just do a little gaming profile about me:

Name:
Churchy
Gaming Since:
1993/4 (I forget as I was about 3 or 4 at the time)
First console/machines:
Amiga 600/ZX Spectrum
First video games:
Paperboy and Mortal Kombat 2

Which current-gen home consoles do you own?:
Xbox360 and Wii (although I'm getting PS3 soon to fix that)

What genre do you specialise in?:
Mainly I'm an allrounder but if I had to pick any I would say platform and horror games

Worst video game you own?:
Superman for the N64 or Goldeneye Rouge Agent (yes I bought that piece of shit!)

Most overrated game?:
Resident Evil 4 (Yeah we'll get to that sooner or later!)

Most underrated game?:
Shenmue 1 and 2

Longest gaming session?:
Not sure if it's the longest but when I had Pokemon Red I played it for around 15 hours

Weirdest place you've been gaming?:
Playing Hotel Dusk in a forest after climing one of the big trees

Game series you most want to make a comeback?:
Starfox or Klonoa

Best gaming moment?:
Okay a random one - we had a Super Smash Bros brawl 99 stock match. It came down to the last two players each with one stock. It was epic as hell. Both had about 80% (I think I was elminated at this point) and then a crap load of bombs came out of a party ball and the winner won because he went off the screen a split second later.

Worst gaming moment?:
Paying lots of money to complete House Of The Dead 4 at the arcades only for a "friend" at the time to press the button on the machine so the ending was skipped. Dick.

Any hilarious gaming related incidents/stories?:
It was when I was walking in the city and next to collection of rubbish bins was a huge 2 layered standee of the latest Prince of Persia game. It looked badass. So I asked one of the guys emptying the rubbish if I could have it. He simply said "well we ain't using it". The main point of hilarity was that I get a 45 minute bus ride in the centre of the city. So I was waiting at the bus stop with a huge Prince of Persia cutout. Several people asked me "who's your friend" and "do you have someone who looks after you?" but I was undeterred in getting it home. I had to angle the thing really carefully on the bus and took up the back of the aisle. Most of the bus folk found it highly amusing (yeah... where I live they don't get out much) and then I carried it down my road and now it takes place...right next to me as I type this (look for a picture at the bottom of this post)

Do you read any gaming magazines?:
Only one. Ngamer (the UK mag). You can trust those guys, plus they're fucking hilarious!

Favourite online gaming sites/reviewers?:
The AVGN, Armake 21/Nicotine Alien/Boxed Entertainment, Darkness The Curse, Spoony. Also just checked out Giantbomb and they seem pretty good.

Favourite bit of gaming merchandise you own?:
The afforementioned Prince of Persia standee. Other than that probably my RC Mario Kart.

Met anyone famous in gaming?:
Pikachu and Sonic The Hedgehog...NO SERIOUSLY! (I'll show pictures soon enough)

Anyway, that has been my introduction. I will post some things about christmassy goodness soon enough and hopefully you'll here more from me and I'll here more from you.

Take care all.
Churchy